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Early voting is underway in Bexar County, with 42,333 people casting ballots on the first day, according to the Bexar County Elections Department.
That's 10,328 more voters than the 32,005 who cast ballots on the first day of early voting in the 2022 midterm elections, an increase of about 32%.
At the Lions Field Adult and Senior Center in San Antonio, cars filled the parking lot and voters waited patiently in line while eager to weigh in on issues ranging from the cost of living to immigration and the direction of the federal government.
For Ricardo Barrera, voting is a regular part of civic life. He said he recently received a mailing noting how often he had voted compared with the average voter.
“I’m a crazy voter,” Barrera said. “I live close here, so it’s really convenient.”
Barrera said immigration and health care are among the issues on his mind as a Texan.
“Immigration, healthcare, those are just things that we as Texans are just really interested in,” he said.
Other voters expressed concerns about the affordability of everyday necessities, education funding and international conflicts.
“The groceries ... the groceries, the gas, college, the school funding,” said Princess Harris, describing some of the issues motivating her vote.
Matthew Graham said he hopes to see an end to the war involving Iran.
“I would love for the Iran War to end, if that could be done,” Graham said. “Otherwise, live and let live, and don’t take my stuff.”
Donna Seiler said she hopes the election will bring a change in the direction of the federal government.
“We’ve got to stop the whole administration that's going on right now,” Seiler said. “They are running like they're a king, like they're an authoritarian government. So, we want to put some good people back in to get rid of all that.”
Epifania Alvarez is 88 years old. She arrived at the Las Palmas Branch Library, a polling location in District 5, dressed in all red to show support for her chosen political party. The housewife of a 100% disabled veteran said she approves of how President Trump is dealing with immigration.
In Spanish she said that Trump is telling the truth: “Él dice la verdad."
The Bexar County Elections Department said polling locations were operating smoothly on the first day, with manageable wait times. Elections Office Administrator Michele Carew encouraged residents to take advantage of early voting to avoid waiting until Election Day.
What voters should know about registration
One question that can arise during an election is whether a voter whose registration is marked as being on the “suspense list” can still cast a ballot.
The answer is yes. Suspense status generally means election officials have received information suggesting a voter may have moved or that their address needs to be confirmed. That information can come from returned mail, such as a voter registration certificate or jury summons.
Being on the list does not mean a voter is ineligible or has been removed from the voter rolls.
Under federal law, election officials must follow specific procedures before canceling a registration because of a possible address change. Generally, a voter must fail to respond to an address-confirmation notice and then fail to vote in two consecutive federal general elections before the registration can be canceled on that basis.
Voters on the suspense list can still vote. They may confirm or update their address when checking in at a polling place by completing a Statement of Residence.
Although the issue can cause uncertainty, voters interviewed at Lions Field did not report problems casting their ballots.
Ballot discrepancy reported in East Central ISD
Separately, East Central Independent School District has received multiple reports of ballot discrepancies involving Proposition A, one of the measures on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Some voters reported that the East Central ISD proposition was missing from their ballots. In other cases, a proposition from another school district appeared instead.
Brandon Oliver, the district’s director of marketing and communications, said some ballots displayed Proposition A for Schertz-Cibolo on the final page.
The Bexar County Elections Department said the issue has been resolved and attributed the discrepancy to an issue involving Texas Election Administration Management, or TEAM, the state’s central voter registration and election management system.
County officials said the problem affected fewer than 1% of eligible voters in Bexar County and did not affect mail-in ballots.
Voters who believe their ballot does not include the correct measures should raise the issue with election officials at their polling location.
East Central ISD is encouraging those who believe Proposition A was incorrectly omitted to contact the Texas Secretary of State at 1-800-252-8683.
Where and when to vote
Bexar County has 58 early voting locations, including 49 in San Antonio. Locations include public libraries, churches, schools, universities and city facilities.
Early voting runs through Friday, Oct. 30. Polling hours are:
- Monday, Oct. 19, through Friday, Oct. 23: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 24: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Sunday, Oct. 25: Noon to 6 p.m.
- Monday, Oct. 26 through Friday, Oct. 30: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Registered voters can cast their ballots at any designated early voting center in the county. Voters with disabilities may request to move to the front of the line, and curbside voting is available at all polling locations.
The deadline for election officials to receive applications for a ballot by mail is Oct. 23.
Voters can find polling locations, hours and additional election information through the Bexar County Elections Department at elections.bexar.gov.
Andrea Drusch of the San Antonio Report contributed to this story.
